Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1947)

— " ' ' ' 26 31 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, January 4, 1947 am NEW YORK The Motion Picture Bookers Club of New York recently held its annual election at which the following officers for 1947 were elected : president, Oscar Lager, Moses Circuit ; first vice-president, Harry Margolis, Loew's ; second vice-president, Lou Wolff, Brandt Theatres ; secretary, Lucille Tannenbaum, Century; financial secretary, Jean Slade, RKO Pictures ; treasurer, Ted Krassner, Henry Brown ; trustees, Jack Birnbaum, Randforce Amusement Company, Jack Perley, Paramount ; board of directors, Alec Arnswalder, Loew's ; Archie Berisch, Warner ; Edward Seider, Prudential ; George Trilling, Fabian ; sergeant at arms. Max Fried. Plans for the installation dinner, during the latter part of January, will be announced later. Louis Becker, father of Joe Becker of RKO Theatre's film booking department, died on Saturday, Dec. 14. The Rialto Theatre announces that its next feature attraction following "The Overlanders" will be the English film produced by Four Continents, "Murder in Reverse," the picturization of a true story of a man who served 15 years for killing his wife's lover only to find that his victim was still alive. Maurice Segal formerly of the Fox publicity department, has joined the Century Theatres publicity and advertising department under Edward Schreiber. Segal will concentrate on a new house organ the theatre group is planning and will double as exploiteer. After being on the sick list for awhile, MGM Exchange Manager Ralph Pielow recovered enough to get back to the office in time to start off on his mid-winter vacation which will take him to San Francisco and Chicago. Bigger events to come. Also on the sick list at MGM was Jack Powers, New York-New Jersey district manager, and also on vacation is Eastern Division Sales Manager Jack Byrne. Wedding bells rung out this holiday week for Cynthia Erde of MGM who was married to Frank Weinjaz at Temple Mason, Brooklyn, and also for Republic's Hannark Eckstein who married Henry Fishbein in a ceremony at the Olcott Hotel in New York. Harriet Carter, ex-biller for 20th CenturyFox, pulled a double bill recently. It was twins. Claudia Freeman and Lois Jackson, two lovelies from the same office, celebrated birthdays this week. Ditto United Artists Joyce Lanager. RKO opened its new theatre — the Hamilton — in Trenton, N. J. The house is a joint operation with the Hamilton-New Brunswick Corporation. John Rossie, who runs the Schroon Lake Strand, and Dave Rosenbaum, who runs the Elizabethtown Capitol, were film row visitors. Century's Albemarle Theatre, Flatbush Ave. and Albemarle Road, Brooklyn, will be the scene of the first elimination run-off in the 1947 Daily News Golden Gloves Tournament, Monday night, Jan. 6. Theatre will be closed to movie patrons during the day while a ring is erected on the stage. Proceeds of the event will go to the Flat REGIONAL NEWS INDEX Albany 27 Atlanta 29 Boston 30 Buffalo 27 Charlotte 38 Chicago .' 26 Cleveland 32 Columbus 28 Denver 34 Harrisburg 29 Hartford 33 Indianapolis 29 Kansas City 28 Los Angeles 38 Memphis 33 Minneapolis 30 Milwaukee 33 New Orleans 30 New York 26 Omaha 32 Portland 26 St. Louis 28 Toronto 27 Washington 32 bush Boys' Club to help support its program for 1947. Tickets for the bouts can be purchased at the Albemarle or the Flatbush Boys' Club and are priced from 65 cents and $1.25 general admission to $1.90' and $2.50 for reserved seats. Janis Paige, Warner Bros, star, has concluded a personal appearance engagement at the New York Strand, and left New York for the coast. C. J. Latta, Warner Theatres zone manager in the Albany area, was a weekend visitor in New York. CHICAGO PORTLAND With theatre receipts hitting an almost alltime low in Oregon, due to the almost continuous rain for 15 days, non-delivery of film, and the huge slice taken from the amusement dollar by Santa Claus, Portland's first-run houses were given two glittering surprise packages on Christmas day, to divide with the returning patrons in "The Razor's Edge" at the Orpheum, and "Dark Mirror" at Mayfair, and "The Jolson Story" at Seattle's Liberty. The Metropolitan's Yuletide story was "Waltz Time." Better movies and more of them was the promise made by Len Gruenberg, RKO-Radio executive, while in Portland. More pictures also using Northwestern scenery and more "location" pictures were promised. He was accompanied north 'by J. H. Mclntyre of Los Angeles. Vancouver (Wash.)— -The new $100,000 theatre in Vancouver, Wash., The Broadway, was set to open just prior to the New Year, according to Day W. Hilborn, Vancouver architect. Murray LaFayette is leaving Coast for Spokane in connection with campaign on "The Razor's Edge." Majority of film salesmen of Puget Sound area were off for their winter vacations starting Dec. 21 to Jan. 6. A number of theatre circuits here report they have received notices from exchanges that prices for short subjects will be advanced from 25 to 50 per cent due to increased production costs. One circuit reports a deal by which it buys a large number of shorts over a period of time and pays for them in weekly instalments. Exchange managers say that the increased price of shorts is fully warranted by rising production costs. Cartoon shows have become quite the thing in the Chicago territory, especially for morning matinees for children, such as those staged by Balaban and Katz. They are real business getters, and most of them are sold in advance. Demand for cartoons is so brisk that exchanges report they are often compelled to send out some that are not in good condition in order to make up a bill of the desired length. Balaban and Katz Circuit employes and those of its subsidiary, the Great States Circuit, received Christmas checks from the company which has also paid the full premium for the group insurance of the employes of the big chain. Circuit officials report that benefits amounting to $413,320.00 have been paid to employes since the plan was started in 1938. Liberal Christmas bonus checks were received by managers of the Manta-Rose Circuit. Employes of the United Artists, Warner Bros, and Columbia exchanges also received holiday checks as did employes of the Whiteway Electric service. Among those recently named to new posts in this area were : Harold D. Conklin, northwestern sales manager, Admiral Corporation ; Dave Wallerstein, manager, southern district, Great Stales Circuit; Henry Stickelmair, manager, northern Illinois, Great States Circuit; James Gualano, manager Essaness Bertha Theatre ; Harold Paul, manager, Davis Theatre ; Foster Leierback, manager, Irving Theatre, and Richard Urban, assistant manager of the Urban. The H. and E. Balaban Circuit is planning a $500,000 improvement program for the coming year, including $100,000 for modernization of the Downtown Theatre, Detroit, also a large appropriation for improvements to the Adams, also in the Detroit district. The Des Plaines Theatre, Des Plaines, 111., will be reseated and improved in all departments, while the ace Esquire Theatre of the circuit will be recarpeted and repainted. The Byrn Mawr will get a new air conditioning system, and the Pickwick, new Pushbak seats as soon as they are available. The circuit has changed the heating system of the following theatres from coal to oil : Des Plaines, Surf, Windsor, EAR and Milford. Other improvements await availability of materials. The Chicago Variety Club will stage its annual ball on Jan. 20 at the Aragon ballroom. A queen of the club will be selected for the event. It is reported that Warner theatres have adjusted admission prices from 45 to 50 cents for weekend shows. Other adjustments are expected the first of the year. Milton S. Carstens, theatre architect says that plans are being rapidly developed for new theatres in this territory, among them being a 2,000-seater for Decatur, 111., where tests for